What do consumers expect from sustainable packaging?

Environmental awareness is growing worldwide – both consumers and companies providing products and services want to use, as well as receive, environmentally friendly solutions on a daily basis. One way to be eco-friendly is to use eco-friendly packaging. Why is this important and what are the characteristics of such eco-packaging?

More than half of all Poles are buying more products in environmentally friendly packaging. It can therefore be assumed that more and more people want the things they buy to be packaged in such environmentally friendly packaging. Many consumers would also like to buy loose products (e.g. cereals, pasta, nuts, etc.) and liquid products (e.g. juices, washing-up liquids, bath gels) in bulk, using their own reusable packaging. This is why more and more shops are springing up where you can buy everything by weight. However, not everything can be bought in this form. Products that need to be packaged should be packaged in eco-friendly packaging, i.e. e.g. eco-boxes or eco-alternatives to traditional packaging.

Why is the use of eco-friendly packaging so important?

The use of eco-packaging is extremely important nowadays. It makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of waste produced and to approach the environment in a more responsible way. Today, packaging in a more environmentally friendly way is a necessity. And consumers are increasingly aware of this, so if they have a choice between traditional packaging and its eco-alternative, they will choose eco-friendly packaging. They refuse to use more packaging than necessary and are looking for ways to manage waste better. Packaging must meet the criterion of using less raw materials during its production, i.e. be sourced from recycled materials and recyclable after use. Packaging manufacturers and shops need to keep up with this environmental trend.

RAJA’s aim is to promote good practices in green packaging. The company bases its packaging business on 5 principles – reduce, reuse, replace, renew, recycle. Their application is designed to reduce waste and enable packaging to be more environmentally friendly.

Ecological packaging – what kind of packaging?

The most environmentally friendly packaging is cardboard, as it is 100% renewable and 100% biodegradable. Therefore, boxes are considered the most environmentally friendly packaging. RAJA offers many types of ecological cardboard boxes in many sizes and shapes. Other packaging made of cardboard and paper include: cardboard envelopes, paper bags and sacks, cardboard tubes, wrapping paper, self-adhesive paper tape, cardboard protective angles and corners, cardboard dividers. All environmental boxes and other cardboard packaging are manufactured from recycled paper and can be recycled again after use. Natural packaging products also include: sisal packing twine, decorative raffia, compressed wood pallets and Flo-pak eco-friendly parcel fillers, made from 100% corn starch.

Plastic recycling processes are also constantly being developed. Only less than 35% of plastic products were recycled in 2017, so there are plans to increase this to 60% by 2030. RAJA offers eco-friendly plastic packaging made from recycled raw materials (e.g. cast stretch film – 80% recycled, plastic bags – 100% recycled, bubble wrap 50% recycled).

RAJA has as many as 1186 products manufactured from renewable materials and 833 products made from recycled materials.